


You Raise Me Up

by Comeback_Kid



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Kid Castiel, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-04-16 13:02:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4626237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comeback_Kid/pseuds/Comeback_Kid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes there's one more surprise if you wait long enough.  </p><p>Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Frostbite

**Author's Note:**

> I love kid fics I can't help it! I didn't actually intend for this to be a full fic, but I started writing and it's suddenly taken on a life of it's own and the character's do what they want! Thanks so much for checking out my work so far, y'all are great!

It was Cas who died first. 

Really died. No more second chances, end of the line, done, gone. No more. 

It was a weird feeling. Having a heart burdened with that sort of pain. Because everywhere Dean looked he saw Cas. He saw him in ratty old hoodies zipped over t-shirts that didn’t match. He saw him in meteor showers and he saw him in the dirty trench coat he kept hanging on the back of the spare bedroom door in the bunker. He saw him in fucking ketchup. Christ on a bike. He saw Cas _everywhere_. 

The first time Sam asked if he was alright Dean laughed it off uncomfortably. The second time he told Sam to _“quit bitchin, you know what happens in this line of work.”_ The third time ended with Sam dragging his tongue over a split lip and glaring daggers at Dean's form still storming down the hall, hardly reacting even as the door slammed hard enough to rattle the cups on the counter beside him. The fourth time wasn’t even Sam who asked-- it was a phone call, from Jodi of all people. 

The fifth time. The fifth time should’ve ended with Dean telling Sam he was fine. Instead it ended with Sam glancing over his shoulder from a panicked knock against the motel door they were camped out in. A breathless “Dean...” coming from his mouth, holding the door open with one hand, turning over his shoulder again, that time to look at Dean. 

“Alright don't get your panties twisted, I’m comin'.” Dean groaned, rolling up from his bed, gun drawn and pace quick before Sam held his arm up. 

“Whoa- Dean chill, put the gun away, put it away.” he nudged the door open a little, motioning with his head downwards. Dean narrowed his eyes for a second, leaning to the side to look, instantly lowering the gun and looking back at Sam. "Oh no, no no no. No, Sam. I already know what you're thinking. Shut the door, shut it." he practically ordered, getting a familiar look in return. Sam set a hand on the kids shoulder starting to tug him into the room. 

"You can't be serious--"

"Listen kid we don't have anything you want, go back to your parents." it was only in the light from the little lamp outside the door that Dean actually took into account the kids appearance. "Jesus Christ..." he rolled his eyes. Barefoot, hair tangled in mats over his eyes, that was either frostbite or the kid just got in a hell of a fight with the pavement. "Where are your clothes?" he barked, watching the kid for any sign of suspicion, but the kid just seemed to stare back blankly. "Where your parents, huh? Your mom and dad, who'd you come here with?" Dean glared at the kid before noticing the way he swayed in the doorway. "Alright, buddy, you gotta name?" he asked, kneeling down in front of him. 

Sam hardly backed off, not trusting Dean to not shove the kid backwards out of the room and slam the door in his face. But even he had to do a double take when the cracked whisper met his ears. "Did he--" he looked at Dean and then back to the kid. "Did you just say Dean?" he watched the way the boys shoulders perk up at the name, watching his head nod up and down almost too wild before nearly falling against Dean who was more than quick to catch him. "So your name's Dean?" Sam asked watching the kid shake his head no and hit his palm against Dean's shoulder. The cracked whisper came again, patting Dean's chest over and over, repeating the name. 

"How do you know my name?" he grabbed the kids arms, letting one go to push the knotted hair out of his face, his jaw dropping when the eyes stared right back at him. A familiar blue that seemed to look beyond the surface. "...Cas?" there was another flicker of excitement that seemed to course through the kids body. "Cas? You're Cas- angel of the Lord Cas?" there was a look, an attempt to smile maybe, though it threatened to break apart into tears. "Who's that? Tell me who that is." Dean pointed at Sam, watching the kid look over and mouth it at first. "No, words, use them, what's his name?"

"S...ssss." the name was there, he just couldn't figure out how to get it to work its way out. "Sssssm." so he was missing an A, but Dean knew what he was saying-- and part of him was a little caught up in jealousy when Cas pulled his arm free from Dean's hold and grabbed onto Sam's leg, practically plastering himself to the side of his leg. Although Sam seemed more than beaming that Cas chose him. A laugh bubbling up as he unhooked Cas' arm from his leg and lifted him up, carrying him over to the bed and sitting him down. He sat on the bed, eventually getting the full "Sam." and proceeding to repeat "Sam, Dean, Sam, Dean, Sam, Dean." until Dean turned the volume to the tv up so he could talk to Sam without hearing Cas in the background.


	2. Towel Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam try to figure out if this kid is really Cas, what they find leaves them a little more troubled than relieved.

Cas sat quietly on the bed, alternating between Dean and Sam's names continually, his eyes glued on them rather than the tv. 

"So what are we lookin at, witches? Angels? Crowley?" Sam glanced over at Cas and back to Dean. "Dude-" he slapped his shoulder to grab his attention again. 

"Look at his feet." Dean mentioned off handedly, not even focused on the case Sam was trying to build. "You think he walked here?" he looked back at Sam. "He probably--" his sentence was cut short when the tv erupted in sound that sent a shrill scream up from Cas. Both Sam and Dean seemed frozen for a second, watching Cas jump off the bed still screaming. After another second Dean was grabbing his arm, lifting him up and and trying to put a hand over his mouth to quiet him. And that's when Dean realized Cas wasn't screaming in pain- he was laughing--

But he stopped when he saw the look on Dean's face. Setting his hand against Dean's cheek and feeling the roughness of his jawline, patting it a few times before taking a soft breath and opening his mouth to speak. But Dean beat him to it. "Yeah Cas, I get it, I'm Dean and he's Sam. I get it, I know." he pulled Cas' hand away, watching the way a familiar furrow crossed his brows. "Cas... What happened to you, how'd you get like this, how'd you get back?" he asked them all at once, watching the look of anxiety flood into Cas' eyes, watching how the blue started to water. "Sam- Sam," he turned, still holding Cas and watching Sam cross his arms. "I need you to hold him for a second." he held him out across the empty space of the room, surprised by how still Cas stayed like that.

"You can't hold him like that, he's not a toy." Sam walked over, taking Cas and settling him against his hip again, content with how Cas seemed to relax against his side. "hey Cas..." he turned his head when he felt Cas tugging on his hair. That time Sam grabbed his foot and raised it a little bit. "Cas did you walk the whole way here?" he felt Cas flinch when he dragged his fingers against the bottom of his foot, his eyes squinting in discomfort before Cas nodded. "On your own?" he watched Cas nod again, sighing out a heavy breath. "Cas do you know where you are?" another nod, that time he made the face at Cas, turning to watch Dean come out of the bathroom with the bag full of first aid supplies.

"OK, Cas. This is gonna sting." Dean warned him, following Sam over to the bed where he sat Cas down. "It's not gonna feel good, you got it?" he asked, watching Cas just stare at him, no nodding- not even an attempt at saying a simple 'ok.' "It's gonna hurt, OUCH!" Dean shouted the last word, trying to make Cas jump, but still getting zero reaction. Dean narrowed his eyes that time and pressed his lips into a line, looking over at Sam and raising his arms up and down in defeat. "He answers you and not me?" he asked, watching the smirk on Sam's lips and rolling his eyes at the shrug. "Alright, Cas, brace yourself." he turned back to Cas and poured a little clear liquid on the bandana, watching Cas eye the kit beside him. Dean grabbed his ankle, leaning back on his knees and eyeing the blistered and mostly raw sole of Cas' foot and with one quick swipe he dragged the cloth over the skin. 

He swore the glass would've shattered if Sam hadn't been there to distract Cas. Though it didn't do much to stop Cas from kicking and hitting-- and soon enough he was back to howling like the world was ending. Part of Dean was surprised by how much it stung when Cas connected his fist with his nose, letting go of Cas' foot and leaning back with a muffled shout, grabbing his nose and rubbing it. "You got a hell of a right hook, man." he blinked a few times and scrunched his nose up after that. 

"Hey, Dean... maybe we should wait a bit." Sam changed the channel to something new and looked over at the two of them. "Maybe we should do a food run?"

"Well we can't leave him here alone, look at him."

"Alright well, you go and I'll watch him." Sam replied, breathing in deep, letting his shoulders rise for a few seconds. "Or we can dress him up and all go out. He looks like he could stand something warm."

Dean thought it over quick, leaning forward and setting his hands on both sides of Cas. "Ok... one more time Cas, I just need an answer, just a hint." he grabbed Cas' feet and started to wrap a light layer of gauze around each of them. "What happened to you?" he watched Cas in silence, watched how Cas shifted his eyes back and forth-- caught off guard when Cas leaned forward and pushed himself against his shoulder; trying to grab Dean's arms and wrap them around himself. 

"Cas, do you remember what happened to you?" Sam asked trying to help and starting to ask another question when Dean whispered shh. It sounded like Cas was crying at first, but the longer they listened the more it cleared into a sort of howling noise. He did it over and over, only stopping when Dean finally wrapped his arms around him like he wanted. Both Sam and Dean were quiet for a long time, with Sam standing against the door and Dean kneeling by the bed holding Cas, letting the howling noise register for another minute before Dean spoke again. 

"Cas. Did you meet hellhounds?" Dean got the nod he was looking for-- just wished he hadn't gotten it that time.


	3. Unholy Tantrums

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL I HAVE BEEN GONE FOR AT LEAST A CENTURY! fall out boy would be so proud. However, I apologize. I got overwhelmed by life. But I am making an attempt to get back into consistency.

Dean found them a corner booth in the still pretty full diner while Sam held onto Cas, keeping a pretty loose hold around him, but making sure the dark green jacket stayed on him.

Sam took the seat by the window with his back against it a little, letting Cas stay propped against his hip and pull on stray strands of his hair. Wincing whenever Cas would tug a little too hard.

Cas on the other hand had refused to say another word about the hounds since the first time when Dean pressed him about it in the motel room and after a while of Cas repeatedly shaking his head no to Dean’s questions Sam finally grabbed the keys to the impala and made for the door. 

“You want a hamburger, Cas?” Dean asked while flipping through the menu. “Or some ice cream–” he heard the scoff from Sam and glanced up with a shrug. “What? Kids like ice cream.”

“What about some soup instead?” Sam answered, watching Dean pull a face. “Dean, we don’t even know how long Cas has been here, for all we know he can’t stomach anything. I don’t wanna hurt him.”

“Soup? You’re gonna feed him soup? It’s Cas, he’s an angel, human food isn’t gonna hurt him, Sam.”

“Dean, he didn’t want you touching the cuts on his feet- he can’t even say more than your name, he won’t talk, he has no clue how he got here. Something’s wrong and we’re not gonna set him back worse.” Sam argued back, the crease between his brows deepening.

“It’s food, Sam. He needs food.” Dean insisted while Sam pulled up a link about something food related on his phone and pushed it over to him, wincing again when Cas yanked on his hair again. “See, even he wants food, not soup.” Dean tagged on when Cas pulled Sam’s hair. He blew out a sigh though, going back to the phone screen and reading the article anyway.

When their food– _and soup_ – came it was more of a hassle than either of them was willing to admit. With Cas refusing to let Sam hold him anymore and repeatedly banging his hands on the windows and letting out high pitched shrieks that mostly made Dean recall the first time Cas ever tried to “speak” to him.

A woman in a booth nearby interrupted the budding tantrum after a while, approaching the table and noticing the anxious yet exhausted look on both boys faces and the screaming one next to them.

“How inconsiderate.” She glared at them and then at Cas, taking note of the green jacket tied around his waist and scoffing again. “People like you are what ruin the sanctity of marriage and families for everyone else– why don’t you just take your bas–” a hand rested on her shoulder after a moment and almost as if she was controlled by unseen forces she turned and walked right out of the diner.

“Seems like you boys could use my help.” A familiar grin spread across his lips. Fixing his tie and smoothing out the front of his suit jacket. “I’ve been tracking your little weasel for days– he killed my hound.” Crowley took the seat next to Dean, whether he’d been welcomed to sit or not. “Seems like Karma got back at him.” He could see Sam fidget in his seat, rolling his eyes and watching Dean turn to face him slightly.

“What are you doing here?” Dean cut to the chase. “Turn him back–”

“Calm down.” Crowley taunted him. “I didn’t do this. Like I said, he killed one of my hounds and I’ve been tracking him for days, he led me straight to you. But I’m willing to make an exchange– if you will?”

“No.” Sam interrupted that time. But before he could continue an almost pained expression formed on Crowley’s face before he let out a quick shout. Trying to yank his hand out of the firm grip Cas’ teeth had on it. “Hey!” Sam piped up- instinct kicking in as he grabbed Cas by the upper arm and pulled him off Crowley. “Cas, no!- what are you doing you don’t bite-” he almost lost his grip when Cas lurched forward towards Crowley’s arm again. Chomping his teeth at him even when Sam gripped his arm firmer than before.

“You should really get your pet under control. I could’ve contracted **angel rabies**.” Crowley answered, his face still scrunched in discomfort, massaging the place Cas bit him, staring at Sam still.

“Great.” Dean sighed under his breath. “I got an angel who bites and the king of hell trying to make me a deal. Awesome.” He took a bite of his burger and glanced sideways at Crowley. “So 'fyou didn’t change him, who did Short Stop?” Dean folded his arms over the tabletop and stared at him.

“If I knew do you _really_ think I’d be here?”

“Yeah– we do.” Sam interrupted in annoyance, pulling Cas up to sit on his lap. Which only tipped him off to another fight to get Cas to sit still. A repetitive “no!” coming from Cas as he kicked his legs and tried to push back against Sam to get him to let him down again. A constant whine mixed with what Sam assumed was either crying or just noise in place of the words he still seemed to lack.

By then though even Crowley seemed perplexed by the tantrum, sighing through a huff and holding his arms out. “Come on, give him-”

“Not a chance.” Sam scowled at him.

“I’m not gonna kidnap the thing. I’m going to teach you how to calm an angry child.”

“No.” Sam started, but for some reason Cas latched onto one of Crowley's hands and wouldn’t stop fighting Sam. “One wrong move and you’re done.” He warned, shifting Cas around and passing him over the table to him.

“There we go.” Crowley situated Cas, cradling him slightly even though Cas had to be nearly half his size already, but Cas seemed perfectly content with it. Maybe because the language barrier didn’t seem so big and the hostility was more than calm between him and Crowley for once. And for some reason Crowley didn’t seem too put off by Cas biting him earlier. He used his thumb to rub circles over one of Cas’ shoulders, finding it mellowed Cas out even more than before, looking up to return an annoyingly smug smile to Sam. "Told you so."

"You're a dick." Sam folded his arms and stared at him with growing suspicion. "What happened to him, you said you didn't do this so who did? Your _mother_?" he said it to get a rise from Crowley, succeeding just slightly from the returned glare he received.

"For your information, my mother is a... "witch" but even I'm not convinced she's done this." he looked down at Cas who was distracted with the colorful patch of cloth sticking out of his suit pocket. "Like I said-- Karma got him back."

"Karma?-- you mean Karma, like the god?" Dean paused for a moment to exchange a look with Sam. "A longstanding grudge from what happened to Gabriel?" he looked back at Crowley, still thinking it over and trying to figure out if it was even plausible.


	4. What's My Name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Sam on edge and Dean borderline desperate for answers it's easy to lose focus of those that really need their help. With Crowlely hot on their trail Dean and Sam have to make a decision to protect Cas or lose him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! thanks for being patient with me all these months, I've been slowly working up to consistently updating, though I still fall short the majority of the time. But really, thanks for being patient with me!

Crowley kept a hold on Cas, almost from his back, gripping the oversized shirt between Cas' shoulder blades, the smirk on his face keeping Sam on the edge of his seat the entire time."No..." Crolwey looked up and then level with the boys. "Not quite that Karma... See, that was just the decoy." Crowley stated but stopped when Cas began to howl. His eyes going wide and then narrowing. "How **dare** you-- I told you the little weasel killed my hound-" he was up from the diner booth in a split second. Dark red eyes and a puffed out chest. His grip tight around Cas' middle, keeping him suspended in the air. 

"Put him down." Sam's eyes narrowed, his shoulders pulled back and stiff as he drew a familiar blade. "Now." the people around them began to get up, a few backing up, some shouting while a few grabbed their phones and scattered towards the exits. 

"Is that it? That's your big plan- stab me and then what? Who are you going to call for help exactly?" the red subsided from Crowley's vision, his eyes returning to the strange hazel hue from before. "Sorry boys- but I've got all the cards this time-" his celebration was cut short with a groan, dropping Cas on the tiled floor and grabbing his arm, pressing his fingers into the warm, ruby color. The rush of sulfur and cold air sent chills along Sam's spine, his blade still out as he scanned the diner, his chest rising and falling angrily. 

Dean stared the empty place down, the gun still smoking slightly as he gave Sam a matching look of apprehension and anger. "Get Cas, we're leaving." he tucked his gun back into his pants and headed for the door, turning to make sure Sam was getting Cas- who was already bundled up in Sam's arms, shielded from the winter air by the excess fabric of Sam's winter coat. 

"A little warning would've helped." Sam responded coldly, shifting Cas in his arms and heading for the passenger side door. 

"You were just standing there, what was I supposed to do, Sam, ask you if you wanted to stab him first?" Dean glared across the roof of the car at him, pulling his keys from his pocket and yanking the door open. 

"No, Dean- but I just, you could've given me a minute."

"Another minute and Cas would've been hellhound snackage, get in." he scowled as Sam climbed into the Impala with Cas still on his lap. "You ok, Cas?" Dean asked, getting no reaction from Cas and slamming his hands against the wheel to make Cas jump. Succeeding, and once again feeling guilty. 

"Dean?" the repetitive familiarity of Cas' voice lulled the anger away temporarily. Dean started the engine, glancing over at Cas, ready to bark out a 'what?' when Cas just said his name again, extending his arm behind himself and reaching for Dean's coat sleeve. 

"I'm not mad at you, Cas. I'm mad at--" he looked to Sam when Sam cleared his throat, staring at him with the Sam questionable gaze. "We'll fix this, I promise."


	5. Parental Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a close call with Crowley, Sam and Dean realize they need to fix their predicament and find a way to find out what happened to Cas fully.

Sam sat with Cas in his lap on the drive back, listening to Cas mumble out sounds and shift around when he was uncomfortable until finally giving into sleep. 

"He asleep?" Dean asked, glancing over as he turned down the radio a little. 

"I think so. He hasn't moved for ten minutes and he's not pulling on my hair anymore..." he trailed off quietly, looking over at Dean as breathing in a heavy sigh. "We can talk about this- you know maybe-"

"I think Crowley did it. I think he set his hounds on Cas and took his grace- tore him apart and found a way to summon him back." Dean stared ahead at the road. Sam thought on it for a moment, the crease between his eyes deepening. "I should've killed him."

"Dean."

"No, Sam." Dean shook his head. "You were right this whole time. I kept him around for when I thought we'd need help and now Cas is a child. We've got Crowley and his hellhounds to worry about and now a kid. You were right man." Dean looked back to Sam again, "I'm sorry man. for not takin' your word." 

They both were quiet for a few minutes longer, Dean turned the headlights down as they neared the motel, pulling into the stall and cutting the engine. "Here-" he reached over and took Cas from Sam's arms. "I got him for the night." he got out of the car, shifting Cas in his arms and heading for the door behind Sam. "What'd'you think his fit was about?" 

The comment got a small smile from Sam as he pushed the door open and flipped on a light. "He's a kid, what kid likes soup?" he asked, a small throwback to Dean's earlier insistence that Cas wouldn't eat soup. He threw his coat over a chair by the table and made his way over to his duffel bag, unzipping it and pulling out a shirt to change into. "You doing ok?" he asked, treading the topic lightly, much to his relief Dean's answer was relatively calm for once.

"I'm good, Sam." he replied, leaning to lay Cas down on one of the beds and setting his hands on his hips when he seemed to finally do one thing right that night. "Looks like we got work to do."


	6. Heaven Help Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many apologies for my continual absence on these stories. The writers block struggle is real, my friends.

Dean pulled the blankets up over Cas and glanced back to Sam who was still seated at the little motel table with his nose buried in different books of lore on angels, demons, witches and hellhounds. An audible sigh coming from him with each page turn as he set a hand over his eyes, rubbing at the sleep that was ready to overtake him. "You know, Dean. If Cas came into contact with hellhounds then I mean..." he trailed off, the tiredness erasing any sort of question he'd been ready to ask. "You know maybe Cas just reverted to a... purer form?" he cleared his throat and propped both elbows on the table in distress, trying to think of anything that would really make sense in the moment. 

"You think a kid is his "purer form" because listen, Sam, every time I've even cracked a joke about his "true form" he's biting off my head about how he's taller than buildings and how he watched the earth be created and saw the light separate from the dark. I-- it doesn't make sense, there has to be a reason he's... that." Dean took a seat, turning himself to face the bed where Cas was quietly wheezing. "You think he's lonely?" Dean asked after that, the topic changing for no reason other than Dean didn't want to talk about Cas meeting hellhounds anymore.

"Lonely?" Sam asked, standing and grabbing the remote to the tv and flipping through the channels to something that could help ease them both out of the tension surrounding them.

"Yeah, I mean he's, well. I don't know." Dean leaned forward on his knees, folding his hands together and shrugging. "He's always going off on his own, finding his own cases, taking on demons, trying to fix heaven and make it more orderly. I mean we don't really hear from him unless he wants us to. Seems like a pretty lonely life to me." he rambled as Sam took a seat on the foot of the bed where Cas was. "I don't know." Dean quickly tried to brush the conversation away, but the look on Sam's face already told him that opportunity was gone. 

"I mean, I guess it's lonely, but Cas is an angel, Dean. He's been around for thousands of years. He doesn't really scream social butterfly." Sam shrugged. "But I guess being alive for this long-- it can probably get pretty annoying socializing. But he's got you and me. He's got us and like Bobby always said- family doesn't end with blood." he moved a little when Cas kicked at the covers, but stayed asleep. "Who the hell even knows how many miles he walked to find us, but he found us Dean. I don't think Cas is lonely when he's with us."

Dean lowered his head, rubbing his hand over his face and breathing out. "Do you think I hurt his feelings a lot?" he asked, catching Sam off guard again with how open he was being.

"What?" the small smirk turned to a look of compassion mixed with sincerity. "No, I think... I think Cas is just... sensitive-"

"So he's you." Dean joked quickly as Sam gave him a quick look and a roll of his eyes.

"I think he's still learning where he wants to fit on earth. You and me, we were born into this. Cas was-- created. And on top of that he was created to be a soldier who didn't have to feel or think, all he had to do was follow orders and make sure the job was completed correctly. And then he gave it all up for us. He lost everything and I think-- he's still learning what that really means." Sam tried to figure it out himself, but felt like he came up short anyway. Another kick from the sheets had Sam looking over his shoulder to see Cas moving a little more frantically in the bed, his arms pulling themselves free from the blanket and hitting at the air above him; his quiet wheezing turning into small shouts of distress. "Cas?" Sam got up the same as Dean- not sure what was going on. His face starting turning red the more he fought against the blankets over him, the small bursts of sound becoming shrieks every few seconds, his lashes beading up with tears as Dean made sure the motel room was guarded and Sam pulled Cas into his arms to try and wake him up.


	7. Learning To Be The Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been finding life difficult lately and I feel it could be hindering my writing ability, so I would like to apologize for the mostly out of character dialogue lately, but I'd also like to thank you all for being patient with me. I'm finding life can be a weird journey, much like a crack fic to be honest, but I'm learning to be the light in my darkness and that's been my reason for pressing forward. Thanks for the support y'all.

By the time Dean finished checking the room Cas was full on screaming, swinging his arms around and fighting to get free from Sam's arms. 

Sam grabbed one of his arms and held onto it so he wouldn't hit him or anything around him, still calling his name between screams and fighting before Cas' eyes shot open and a glazed over look took over the near dead silence. "It's just a dream, just a dream." Sam carded his hand through Cas' hair as Dean double checked the door one last time before going back to the bedside himself. "See, Dean's here, I'm here, it's a dream Cas, that's all." Sam tried reassuring him, but all Cas seemed to do was stare right through him, laying silently on his lap and not moving more than his shoulders each time he breathed out through a wheezing exhale.

"Dean." he stated, staring at Sam; a look of concern had formed on his features at that point and Sam felt more lost about the situation than before. But he nodded nonetheless and ran a hand through Cas' hair again, moving the dark strands out of his eyes again. "Dean?" Cas asked again and Sam sat Cas up a little more so he could see Dean sitting on the bedside next to him. Cas reached his hand up to press his fingers against Sam's jawline, seemingly holding his face, humming out the "Sssm." that had become his version for 'Sam.' A halfhearted smile, more troubled than relieved found Sam's face at the name and he nodded again. 

"Yeah Cas, we're still here, we're not going anywhere." Sam reiterated, leaning forward to adjust his hold on Cas, closing an eye when Cas put his hand over it and moving his hand to pull Cas' arm down after another second of Cas just sitting there like that. "You hungry?" he asked, watching Cas settle back down into his arms- working to make Sam cradle him again while simultaneously ignoring Sam's question. Sam glanced over his shoulder to Dean with a frustrated look on his face at the reaction. Dean could see the stress building in his brothers eyes and without so much as a word about it he got up and moved over to take Cas from him. 

"Alright, Cas. We're gonna eat some food and watch some toons while Sam gets some sleep, how about some cartoons, sound like a plan, huh?" he asked, lifting Cas up into his own arms and settling him on his hip while Sam gave him a grateful look in return. He saw the questioning look in Cas' eyes- the unspoken words asking if Sam was mad-- "Sam just needs some sleep and wants to make sure you're ok. You're not in trouble. We just... gotta work on finding you some words again, deal?" he asked, trying to convince Cas that Sam wasn't upset with him. Cas mostly stared blankly at him before squinting his eyes at Dean and making himself go limp in his arm, no longer interested in what Dean had to say. "Come on." he walked over to the other bed next to the table and set Cas down in the seat before opening the small motel fridge and grabbing a few snacks from it while Sam folded himself into the now empty bed from earlier. 

Dean sat across the table from Cas and watched him play with the handful of goldfish he'd poured out of the bag before putting one against his lips and blowing on it.e watched Cas point to Sam in the bed before propping an elbow up on the table and swinging his feet. "Sam's tired." Dean stated, turning himself slightly in his own chair. "he's tired, do you understand?" he asked while Cas pushed the crackers around the table. "Cas, do you understand what tired is?" he asked just trying to get a grasp for what they were dealing with again. Cas opened his mouth, but no sound came out aside from a quiet whisper of air while he moved his lips. "Sleeping." Dean stated, "That's what you were doing earlier, you were tired so you closed your eyes and laid down in the bed. Tired." he tried explaining again.

"...tired..." Deans eyes widened and a warm smile formed from ear to ear when Cas whispered the word back to him. "...tired Sssm." he whispered again, smiling back when Dean laughed in relief. 

"Yeah, Cas. Sam's an old man, can't stay up with us night owls." he joked, catching Sam roll over to ignore them back. "Eat, open your mouth." Dean opened his mouth and grabbed a goldfish, popping it in his mouth and talking again. "and put the cracker in. Eat." he explained watching Cas grab another fish cracker and put it against his mouth. "Eat it."

"Eat." Cas stated, content when Dean smiled and raised his brows. "...tired." he repeated the earlier word. Dean sighed out softly. 

"Not yet, you need to eat the crackers and then you can sleep. You need to eat." he explained, watching Cas connect the sentences and meanings together, sighing out again when Cas shook his head no and set the orange cracker down. 

"...eat." Cas repeated a few more times, only getting a confused and slightly frustrated look from Dean. "...eat." he opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out. It took Dean a minute longer before his brows knit together and he got up, heading to the small sink and running the water into a glass and coming back to the table with it. "eat!" Cas exclaimed as Dean nudged the glass over to him. 

"Drink. Not eat." Dean stated, leaning his arms forward on the table, the tension disappearing from his face, a sort of happiness forming instead. "When you're thirsty you want a drink not something to eat." it felt-- strange teaching Cas, but the fact that Cas was alive and safe with them again- it outweighed the strange factor by a lot.


	8. Be My Keeper

Dean sat by the lamp, pouring over different spells and books, certain lore and stories about hellhounds and angels, but nothing lined up. None of it made sense. He shifted, clearing his throat softly and pressing his hands against his head, propping his head up- the tired frustration building quietly on his face while Sam took care of Cas. He wanted to figure out this shit- find a way to fix Cas, get the one he knew-- understood, back. 

"Close your eyes." Sam warned Cas, watching him tilt his head back to smile up at Sam with squinty eyes and soap everywhere else; pursing his lips together in an attempt to not smile back at Cas that time Sam just stared at him. "Cas, come on, close your eyes." he filled the cup with water again, holding it over Cas' head. The soap was gonna flood his eyes any second and that would only launch Cas back into screaming and he was pretty sure their neighboring rooms would complain soon. "Cas the soap is gonna get in your eyes and make you cry, shut your eyes, now." he used a different tone. One he'd used with Cas and Dean in the past when they would argue over a case or a lead. 

"...mad?" Cas set his hand against his chest, repeating the word a few times, the look on his face only making Sam feel bad about using the tone he had, but he wasted no time dumping the warm water over Cas' head when he did close his eyes, but he set a gentle hand on Cas' shoulder when he saw how his shoulders were starting to shake again. 

"I'm not mad, Cas. I don't want to hurt you. The soap in your hair will hurt your eyes, it'll sting. I didn't wanna hurt you, man." Sam explained, running more warm water into the tub while Cas sat there; half hyperventilating and half unsure of himself. "I'm not mad, Cas, I promise." he leaned over the side of the tub, sacrificing his dry shirt to give Cas a hug, the suds and water soaking into his sleeve instantly. 

"You guys alright?" Dean called back from the small room, breathing out in somewhat relief when Sam hollered back that they were fine.

Sam sat against the wall of the bathroom while Cas sat in the tub, playing with the different cups, pouring the water out and then filling them back up every few seconds. Running a hand through his damp hair, Sam sighed out, glancing over when Dean came in and took a seat on the edge of the tub. "You find anything yet?" he asked, seeing the disappointment in his eyes. "We'll figure it out Dean, don't stress man." he watched Cas again and then looked back at Dean.

"If Cas is human then we've got one thing goin' for us." Dean rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "He's got no grace trail, no demons or angels can follow him- which means we can find somewhere safer. I'm guessin' summoning anyone or anything gives us away." Dean rambled, turning to look at Cas who'd successfully managed to stand himself up in the overflow of soapy water and plaster himself to Dean's side. "You realize you're naked right?" he asked, catching the glare from Sam. "And soaking my clothes, dude." Sam rolled his eyes at Dean, getting up to grab the towel and throwing it towards Dean. 

"I'll check dad's journal, see if he had anything similar in there." Sam replied, heading out of the room to the table Dean had been settled at earlier while Dean took care of Cas.

"Nnnnmi." Cas kept saying the sound until it grabbed Dean's attention, he bundled Cas in the towel and grabbed the spare clothes on the sink counter before heading out next to Sam. 

"What're you sayin' Cas?" Dean asked, setting him on the bed and leaning towards him, setting his hands on both sides of Cas and just focusing on his eyes; figuring maybe they'd hold more info. All Cas did was make the noise again and again; which really only made both brothers more curious to know what he was saying. Or trying to anyway.

There was a crackle from the tv, then static, then Cas' hair seemed to stand on end- blue and purple lights flickering off the tips before a bright light materialized in front of them all. Sending Cas into somewhat of a panic and Sam and Dean up from their spots with weapons drawn, guarding Cas from behind and the front. 

"He was saying my name." Naomi stood there, adjusting her posture and glancing to the side of Dean to observe Cas who was pressed into the slight bend of Dean's leg, his hand clamped tightly around Dean's free hand.

"Cas- what did you do?" Dean didn't turn to look at Cas, but the fact that Naomi- was there definitely had Castiel written all over it.

"It's been millennia since I've seen my brother in this form. Doesn't surprise me Winchesters would be behind it--"

"Whoa, slow your roll, he came to us like this, I thought he was dead!-" Dean started in, already defensive, but Naomi held her hand up like she was telling him to shut up. 

"Come here." she ordered Cas, a baffled look of offense on her face when Cas refused; and a smug look on Dean's at that. "Castiel, you called for me and I came, now come here, now."

Cas shook his head no. "Dean." he answered her instead. "S-am." he glanced back to Sam, a small, hidden smile forming at the corners of the taller Winchesters mouth. Sam watched the look on Naomi's face turn to somewhat of understanding, but it mixed with jealousy, a lot of jealousy. 

"I am your family, Castiel. Not them." she replied. "You called for me. Why?"


End file.
